Playoff time. It’s been a damn long time. Last playoff home game was this

And this

And then, there was this

Followed by a ******** of this

And this

And, dammit, this

Coupled with all of this

But, if being a SF Giants fan has taught me anything, it’s that living through all the crap of the low times only sweetens the ride back to the top.

So now, there’s this

And this

And this

OK, everyone feeling good enough now. Cool.

Now how you feelin? Sorry, but it gets real, right about now. Brees is just so damn good. You combine his insane accuracy with matchup problems like this

And this

And this

That offense is just ridiculous. Even when we roll out these guys

I think the defense will show up, but that still means the Saints are going to score at least 24 points. So, long story short, we need a near perfect offensive performance. Alex must be accurate. Can’t have drops. Can’t turn the ball over. Must count by 7 and not 3. No biggie, right?

We have to have a ton of this

And lots of this

And feature this

And, please, please, please, open up big holes for this

And hey, what the hell, I haven’t really asked for this so far this season, so how about we get a monster game from this

It’s been a hell of a season. But I want moar. We can do this. Win this game and show the nation that we are for real.

Standings: Who gives a ****! It's playoff time baby!

Special Note:
The quest for #6 begins Saturday.

Special Note II: This is not allowed at the “Stick”

Unless he brings this along

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The Brian Sabean sig is no more. I disagreed with you on so many levels. And then you went out and built a dynasty. I am lame.

Honestly, im not worried about the Saints because unlike the Lions, our secondary is far better and our defense can tackle. The only guy on the Saints im truly worried about is Sproles because he's small and fast and by the time you find him, its too late. Personally, im hoping they play man coverage and bump the receivers at the LOS. I hate seeing the receivers run free into zones where the only thing Brees has to do is beat the air which any QB can do when the receiver is wide open in zone coverage.

I think that our run defense can contain their running game. Getting to Brees is the main thing defensively obviously. Im sure everyone saw the two TE's lining up outside the OT's which is why I would send extra pressure up the middle especially since Brees is short.

Offensively, we must score TD's because FG's wont do crap. And if our defense gets turnovers, we must score off of them. Running the ball and controlling the clock is what we should probably do but for some reason, I see Harbaugh having Smith come out passing. Saints secondary sucks and will give up big plays and yards and points. We just need Crabtree, Davis, etc. to step up and help out Smith. And mainly, the OL must play GOOD or Smith wont have time to do a damn thing.

If Smith has time to pass, I think that Smith can have a good game. Bottom line is that it cant be all on Smith.

And I dont know about anyone else but if we win, im cheering for the Giants on Sunday. :)

Nice thread. I felt good with that confidence-building montage of photos, and then my smile vanished when I saw Brees' photo.

Anyways, hopefully our entire team is focused. Matt Maiocco has a nice article up about the keys to the game for the 49ers. On defense, we gotten the majority of our sacks with our front four. We are probably going to be in nickel situations most of the time, which means Aldon Smith is going to be on the field a lot. So that should be interesting. Hopefully he and Justin Smith have a big game. The Saints have two Pro Bowl guards. No one gets pressure on Brees. The 49ers need to be the ones to finally do it. The good thing about our defense is that we haven't gotten blown out this season, and the most points we've allowed is 27. This game should be within both team's reach going into the final minutes.

On offense, converting third downs is crucial. The 49ers are at 29%. I think that is second worst in the league if I remember. And that's a problem. They almost need to have a perfect day on offense. I'm praying Alex steps his game up and delivers. The Saints defense doesn't scare me. I don't care how much they blitz. Greg Williams apparently likes to blitz the house or just rush three, which is weird to me, but whatever. Alex has generally been good against the blitz this season even though he's been the most sacked quarterback in the NFL. Strange.

Gore has been banged up and I think his days are numbered as a starting back, but I hope this week off has helped him, and I hope he can muster the strength to have a huge game.

Not sure how well Saints fans travel, but I'm assuming it won't be as bad as Pittsburgh when those fans rolled through. Tickets were already sold out the middle of last week. So I don't know what that means. I'm guessing it's good for us, because the Saints fans wouldn't have known if they were going to play another week right? Should be all 49ers fans. Hopefully it's loud as hell.

49ers really need this win. At least one win in the playoffs. I've always felt like the first playoff win is the most difficult for any team. Jeff Fisher said that one time and I agree. You never know what can happen after that, but this game will go a long way towards building the team's confidence even further. My final prediction:

49ers 28
Saints 21

And I know everyone, well most media pundits, will be taking the Saints and we won't stop hearing about how Alex can't do this and that, game manager, etc. But whatever. Game time is around the corner and we will see who is the better team.

Last year's game against the Saints gives me a good feeling about this even though a lot has changed since then. The Saints offense, for one, is playing far beyond the level they did last year, and that is saying something.

On the other hand, we are performing far beyond the level we did last year as well. Still, it is obviously going to be a tough game.

As much as I hate playing a zone soft with only four-man rushes pretty much every play I think that is going to be our best bet in this game. Even though it has been weaker as of late I have faith that our run defense will bounce back with Willis back at 100%. If we take their running game away and keep everything short we can at least make them take a while to move down the field, and then our redzone defense is good enough to hold them to field goals a good percentage of the time.

On offense we need to be more aggressive even when we have a lead. Don't try to get away from what is working just to throw the defense off-balance. If the passing game is working, keep passing until they stop you. Same thing with the running game. The most important factors on offense isn't the running game, imo, it is the protection of Alex Smith and the receivers. The right side of the line is going to be targeted all day and they need to step up and Vernon Davis and Crabtree are going to have to take advantage of every 1-on-1 opportunity they get and catch everything thrown their way.

I do, in fact, see this game going similar to last year's. Brees will attempt at least around 40 passes and the Saints will win the time of possession battle but the 49ers will pin them deep so much and play excellent redzone defense that they will only score in the low to mid-20s. The 49ers offense will have success on the ground and in the air and they will limit mistakes but the redzone offense isn't going to be great, still.

I am distraught about this game. I'm trying to convince myself we are going to lose so I don't feel bad about it afterwards, but so much about this season has shaken that feeling I usually have around week 4 or 5 of previous seasons, where the losses started piling up and I only had the draft to look forward to.

I need them to win this game and exercise some fanhood demons. Being a Niners fan these past 9 years has been a test of faith (the game that stands out the most is the 41-0 loss to the Chiefs in '06). The Giants rewarded my life-long devotion obsession with a world series win, can the Niners at least win a playoff game? That's all I ask.

The mental coaching battle of Harbaugh vs. Payton in this game is easily one of the most intriguing angles. Scheming and adjustments are major strengths for both and I can't wait to see what these two throw at each other. It should be epic.

Niners win in 4th quarter comeback 34-31.

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Tomsula in as HC after the "Harbacle"
Operation 2015 Super Bowl Champions: In progress, with much work to be done

I am distraught about this game. I'm trying to convince myself we are going to lose so I don't feel bad about it afterwards, but so much about this season has shaken that feeling I usually have around week 4 or 5 of previous seasons, where the losses started piling up and I only had the draft to look forward to.

I need them to win this game and exercise some fanhood demons. Being a Niners fan these past 9 years has been a test of faith (the game that stands out the most is the 41-0 loss to the Chiefs in '06). The Giants rewarded my life-long devotion obsession with a world series win, can the Niners at least win a playoff game? That's all I ask.

Well this is why I was such an asshole the majority of the season. These opportunities don't come around often, and as your see some teams and their "windows" just open and close and then it's over. The 49ers might not have another season like this for 10 years or whatever. It wouldn't be that surprising. San Francisco needs to capitalize and show the world that they deserve to chase a championship. No one thought we would make it this far, and now that we have, it's time to put the petal to the metal.

By the way the 49ers are +3 underdogs at home. That surprised me a little. I thought it at the very least it would be +1. I know everyone is harping about the Saints offense, but I mean come on. The 49ers are 13-3 too.

Well this is why I was such an asshole the majority of the season. These opportunities don't come around often, and as your see some teams and their "windows" just open and close and then it's over. The 49ers might not have another season like this for 10 years or whatever. It wouldn't be that surprising. San Francisco needs to capitalize and show the world that they deserve to chase a championship. No one thought we would make it this far, and now that we have, it's time to put the petal to the metal.

I don't see it that way at all. With all the things going against us as the lockout ended, this should be a indicactor of 49er football trending up. I don't believe in "windows" closing and opening. Good franchises are always in contention because they have comptent front offices, owners who want to win, and great coaching. The New Englands, The Pittsburghs, The Green Bays. Their front office has a overall vision that is in unison with the coaching staff and they go out and excute it personel wise, then the coaches compliment it scheme-wise. Some years are more productive than others but after awhile, it becomes a fine well-oiled machine that sustains itself. That's what we have now in Baalke and Harbaugh. Neither is going anywhere for a long time. And in one short year they have proven that this only the beginning. I fully expect us to be a even better team next year. The record might not reflect it, as our schedule will get alot tougher next year but we'll be a more balanced team next year and be ready for another playoff run. No worries on my end. Niner football looks to be good for awhile.

True that is part of it. But Pittsbugh was always a competive group with Cowher as coach and Tom Brady wasn't excatly a top 5 QB those first two Super Bowl runs with the Pats. Jimbaugh's presence lets me know that we'll always have good QB play. Sortta like Andy Reid and how he always has whoever is under center from the Eagles look like a Pro Bowler. Again, no worries....

One thing I want to see is our D-Line getting there hands up. Brees is only 6'0. Guys need to get some balls batted down. I'd like to see Fangio do something different. Maybe have All-Done stand up and rush the passer as a ILB a couple of times so he can get his huge wingspan right in the face of Brees and maybe tip a few balls.

Yeah two of those games were road games, but still I think it's a concern. The Saints' passing game definitely opens up their running attack too, which has been dynamite this year. The good news is the the 49ers players got an extra week of rest.

I get the feeling our offense is going to have to win this game for us for some reason...and at least score twenty points. I pray that Harbaugh and Roman have a good game plan against this team.